Diving Bell Spider

Description

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The diving bell spider or water spider, Argyroneta aquatica, is a spider which lives entirely under water.Argyroneta aquatica is found in Northern and Central Europe and up to latitude 62 N and northern Asia. It is the only spider that spends its whole life under water. However it breathes air, which it traps in a bubble held by hairs on its abdomen and legs.Females build underwater "diving bell" webs which they fill with air and use for digesting prey, molting, mating and raising offspring. They live almost entirely within the bells, darting out to catch prey animals that touch the bell or the silk threads that anchor it.show more